Alright I'm back. Now, have I finally done Mukuro justice and made her come off nice but just having made a bad choice of handling the situation she was faced with? That's all I really meant for her to come off like but I've got a couple would-be-flames from Mukuro lovers that inform me that I portrayed her to be bitch. I honestly didn't mean for there to be any real Mukuro bashing really. When I first wrote this I hadn't even seen an episode with Mukuro and I was just going off some vague information I had from some character overviews from a few yyh sites. So, I'm sorry if Mukuro came off as overly mean and cold hearted but I hope I've made amends for that now.
In other news, this chapter and onward is where this fic might start to get a little weird and hard to follow, but I assure you it's supposed to be that way. As you may have noticed in the last chapter, Hiei has gone slightly nutty with grief over Kurama, what with smelling his blood and hearing his voice and whatnot. Really I think the new Simple Plan song "Untitled" portrays Hiei's situation pretty well, I don't own said song or band but listen to it if you can, it really does fit pretty well. But back on topic, after this is when he really starts to loose his mind, which doesn't help his quest to bring his love back too much. Anyway, just read and enjoy, you'll see what I mean soon enough. ON WITH THE FIC!
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Hiei sat on the branch, staring at the crystal heart still clutched in his hand. It had become almost a permanent part of him, an extra appendage and an extension of his own heart. It had been five days since he had made his promise and he wasn't any closer to reviving his lost fox. Every lead he got was either a complete dead end or else only lead him to a powerless fool of a demon who had no idea what kind of power it really took to raise the dead, all of which cases Hiei was more than glad to dispatch to the world of the dead which they claimed to know so much about. Now, as night set on the Makai, Hiei's main focus was fighting the sleep that was threatening to overtake him and send him spiraling back to the world of his nightmares.
Softly, in a whisper to himself, Hiei began to speak the small scraps of plans he had managed to make that would help him bring Kurama back, despite the fact that he had already gone over these plans at least a million times just that day.
"The body may look human but had demon flesh, had it since he was ten," Hiei spoke softly, forcing out the word 'body.' "Because of this, it won't decay as fast. I probably have at least another two months before I'll need to find some alternative to the original body, but until then the human body of Shuichi will do just fine. And the soul…" here Hiei trailed off and gazed down at the heart in his hands. "Koenma never did recover your soul," he whispered to the gem he was holding. "At first it puzzled me, until I realized what the crystal heart was. 'A crystallization of a person's feelings' is what the book said but all that really means is a crystallized soul. Kurama…"
It was the first time the half-Koorime had spoken that name in over a month. Despite his best efforts to keep his voice level it came out as a horse half choked sob. When he had first realized the truth that he had just spoke, that the heart was Kurama's soul, he had felt relieved and despaired at the same time. He was relieved because with both the soul and the body at his disposal, it would make it much easier for him to resurrect his dead love. But it made him despair as well because it also made him realize that if he didn't do what he planed, if he was unable to bring Kurama back, his soul would never move on. Instead of going to Reikai and gaining the afterlife he deserved, Kurama's soul would remain trapped in the crystal heart forever unless Hiei found a way to free it.
No matter what he felt about the idea that the heart was indeed Kurama's soul, Hiei had no qualms about talking to it as if it was. It made him feel better in some strange way he couldn't understand.
Sleep was winning its battle against the demon and he held the heart closer as he felt himself giving in. "Don't torment me any more," he almost begged the heart. He wasn't sure if Kurama could really hear him, all attempts to reach the fox with his Jagan had failed, but he had to try anyway. He couldn't take the nightmares anymore. "I don't want to watch you die for me again." With that last voiced thought, Hiei lost the battle and his eyelids slipped closed.
(Hiei's Dream…or is it?)
At first, he didn't know where he was. It was warm wherever it was. He was in a bed. The covers were comfortable and familiar. But that wasn't where the warmth was coming from. The warmth was behind him, pressed against him, and with a shock he realized there was a pair of arms wrapped around him in a secure hug. (Before I go any further, know that they are both fully clothed, you hentai people you.)
Hiei went tense with shock, not daring to look behind him. It couldn't be….was it a dream...Gods, please don't let it be a dream!
"Hiei, what's wrong?" came a muffled, half asleep question from behind him, spoken in that sweet alto he thought was lost to him forever. Turning slowly in the hold he was caught in, he faced the person behind him. He let a gasp escape him unchecked and his eyes went much wider then he normally ever let them get.
There, behind him, hugging him was the red haired green eyed beauty he had spent three months mourning. He felt his eyes sting as his vision clouded with tears he didn't even bother to conceal. It was horribly uncharacteristic of him to do so, but he didn't care. He couldn't decide if this was a dream or not or if everything else had been a dream or just what was going on, but dream or not it was the first time in months he had seen Kurama and not had the vision accompanied by the heart and all that blood and those haunting words.
Kurama, who had closed his eyes again, having only been half conscious when he had asked his question, opened them when he felt Hiei move. His intention was to smile at his lover, but the look on Hiei's face brought him to full concerned awareness in a second.
"Hiei!" he cried, "What in the world is it? What's the matter?"
Hiei couldn't contain himself any longer. To hell with any scrap of pride and dignity he had left. He threw his arms around the fox and buried his face in his chest, letting the tears fall unchecked.
Kurama was shocked. Hiei had never, never acted like this before. What could have upset him so horribly? Kurama didn't have the faintest idea.
"Hiei…" Kurama tightened his own hug on the fire demon, stroking his soft black hair with one hand. "Hiei," he said again in a soft, comforting voice, "tell me what's wrong. Was it a nightmare?"
"I…I don't…know," Hiei replied honestly, his tears slowing but only fractionally. He still wasn't sure which reality was a dream and which was real. Was the truth that Kurama was dead, or was where he was now the truth and the rest had been a nightmare? He honestly didn't know anymore, but he sincerely hoped it was the latter.
"What was it about?" Kurama prompted gently, still petting the smaller one's hair. Hiei took a shaky breath before slowly unraveling the tale to Kurama. He told him everything, leaving nothing out. From Mukuro's task to find the crystal heart, to Kurama's sacrifice, to the utter loneliness and despair the half-Koorime had experienced afterwards. All the while Kurama listened, never interrupting or speaking at all except to coo encouraging words in his love's ear whenever he halted his story.
"There, there," Kurama whispered gently when the story had finished and Hiei's tears had ceased. There was a good sized pile of dark teargems in the bed around them. "I'm not dead, I'm right here. There's no need to be so upset."
Hiei raised his head from Kurama's chest, the look of a lost child plastered on his face. Kurama's heart went out to the poor demon, it was clear to see he was confused and above all scared at the idea that his nightmare could be real. Kurama rubbed a thumb over each of Hiei's cheeks, wiping them dry. "It's alright," he assured Hiei again, smiling softly. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, I promise. It's past midnight, why don't you go back to sleep?" Kurama brushed some teargems away, he'd clean them up properly in the morning, and settled himself back into a comfortable position.
Hiei looked hesitant, still shaken by the nightmare, but Kurama only held him closer and said "I won't leave. I'll be here the whole time. I promise, if it looks like you're having a nightmare again, I'll wake you up. Okay?" Hiei stared for a moment longer before nodding and letting his head sink into the soft pillow just below Kurama's head, feeling the taller one's breathing ruffling some of his longer spikes of hair.
"Kurama?" he asked just as sleep began to fog his senses.
"Hmmm?" the question was hummed from above him.
"…I love you." There was a chuckle from above him.
"I love you too, Hiei."
(End Hiei's Dream…or was it a dream?)
Hiei woke with a start and nearly fell out of the tree. It took a minute for him to realize where he was, but then he felt something in his hand and looked down to see…the crystal heart?
"NO!" he roared, practically jumping to a stand, his mind a mix of confusion and loss and frustration.
"No…" he sank to his knees on the branch, staring at the heart, tears pricking his eyes, clouding his vision. "No…this isn't right. This isn't what's supposed to happen. This…this…" his eyes hardened into cold rubies and he stood up again, pocketing the heart deep within his cloak and allowing green flame to engulf his fists. "This isn't real!" he snarled, practically a scream.
That night, a good portion of the northern forests of the Makai burned to the ground in an emerald blaze.